Fantasy Book Club Series discussion

This is the place for those who have finished reading Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind, Book 1 in The Sword of Truth series. What did you think?

*****WARNING—Spoilers Likely!****

I finished this last night, and it was better than I was expecting it to be. (I have a number of friends who have really panned this series. I have never read any of the books and wanted to find out for myself, which is why I am glad this group chose to read it this year.)

I like how the author wove in serious themes--the meaning of love, forgiveness, truth, sacrifice--and yet kept a few lighter notes like Zedd's appetite and Richard's interactions with Scarlet, the red dragon. On the other hand, I quickly tired of Rahl's licking his fingers and smoothing his eyebrows... And I am glad that Richard realized how thoroughly he was following Wizard's First Rule in his rationalization of his brother's actions. I was suspicious of Michael from the first.

Not quite sure what to make of the revelation that Richard is the grandchild of Zedd and of Panis Rahl and son of Darken Rahl.

So, really, my rating is more like 3.5 stars and it would have been a solid 4 except for the pages and pages of detailed torture of Richard by Denna. I understand how important that experience was for his growth and development as a key character, but it just felt a bit gratuitous to me.

This series was recommended to me by a librarian (who knew right?), last summer and instantly got into it. I really enjoyed the way the story was told; the descriptions of the world made me feel like I was really there, and I know I loved Khalin right from that first meeting, hated Darken Rahl, and constantly worried about Richard.

It has been years since I've read this series. I remember it being a good solid read for me. Not good enough to spend the time to reread all again, but I still remember parts of the story.